There was no trace of Amsterdam, Rotterdam or The Hague in the first two centuries of the second millennium. Between AD 993 and 1299, the territory was known as the County of Holland, ruled by Frisian Counts. During the early 1200s, Count Floris IV of Holland purchased some land near Loosduinen and began building a house atop a dune adjacent to a small lake, called the ‘Court Pond’ today. The house was probably made of stone, but there were also wooden buildings nearby inhabited by servants, and stables for cattle, as well as defensive walls and probably a canal. The house and surroundings were called Haga (‘land surrounded by walls’), and later was renamed Haag.

The Middle Ages boasted a sport called ‘jousting’, which included martial competitions between two mounted knights using a variety of weapons. Count Floris IV lost his life in this sport, in France. He was succeeded by Willem II, who built a larger and impressive house on the land near Loosduinen, as his power and influence gradually rose. In 1256, weeks before his coronation as Holy Roman Emperor, Willem lost his life in a battle against the Frisian tribe, the same year his son Floris V was born. When Floris V was in his teens, he decided to sell his rights to the Scottish crown instead of going to war in Scotland. With the proceeds, he built part of the Royal Palace in Haga, which still stands today as the Hall of Knights, with a small fountain and statue of Willem II in front of the building.

Floris V pursued a peacekeeping policy. Instead of battling the Frisians, he chose to make peace and settle in Haga permanently, perhaps because the castle stood on its ‘own’ ground, and major cities, such as Delft and Leiden, could lay no claims to it. From then on the castle drew more and more settlers. Even though there were no rivers or major roads in the area, Haga developed into a village, with its inhabitants protected by the standing army of the count.

A myriad of small castles and wooden houses soon sprung up around the main edifice at Haga because powerful landlords from all over Holland wanted to own property there. The Hague then became the political centre of Holland. In 1296, Floris V was kidnapped by the Lords of Amstel, who were associated with the founding of Amsterdam. When the people demanded his return, the kidnappers were reluctant to turn him over for fear of their own lives, and they killed him. The last count was Willem III, who married Princess Elizabeth, the daughter of King Edward I of England. Willem only ruled for three years and died without an heir.